Chapter 131 A historical point guard

The shortened season of 1998-99 had a greater impact than the NBA expected.

Played 50 games in three months and frequently played against teams in the same division. The result was that the fans were tired of watching. In the playoffs, there was a serious lack of ceremony!

The teams the Knicks have played against the most this season are the Heat, Magic, 76ers and other Atlantic Division teams.

In the first round of the playoffs, they met the 76ers. Before the game even started, New York fans were already celebrating the series victory.

This season, the Clippers, who won the No. 1 pick, tied the record set by the Miami Heat in the 1988-89 season, losing 17 consecutive games at the start of the season.

The Bulls missed the playoffs for the first time in 15 seasons. Chicago fans were dumbfounded. The team fell too fast.

After the regular season, the Eastern and Western Conference rankings were officially released. The top 8 teams in the Eastern Conference are:

The Knicks had 39 wins, the Heat had 33 wins, the Pacers had 32 wins, and the Magic had 31 wins;

The 30-win Hawks, the 28-win Pistons, the 28-win Bucks, and the 27-win 76ers.

The top 8 teams in the Western Conference are:

37-win Spurs, 37-win Jazz, 35-win Trail Blazers, 31-win Lakers;

The Rockets have 31 wins, the Kings have 27 wins, the Suns have 27 wins, and the SuperSonics have 25 wins.

The shortened season made Vin Baker of the Sonics become a ball, and Gary Payton almost missed the playoffs even if he performed well.

In the end, the Sonics relied on the relationship between victory and defeat to defeat the Timberwolves, who also had 25 wins.

Marbury's departure in the middle of the season still had a big impact on the Timberwolves' strength.

The schedule of this year's playoffs is also very tight. After two days of rest, the first round officially begins.

For everyone on the 76th team, they only have one day of rest, and they have to fly to New York in advance on the 7th to prepare for the game.

On the morning of May 7, the NBA hurriedly announced this season’s data leaders:

Averaged 13.0 rebounds per game, and Chris Webber of the Kings successfully won the rebounding title;

Averaged 10.8 assists per game, and Jason Kidd of the Suns finally won the assists title;

Averaging 3.9 blocks per game, the Heat's Alonzo Mourning won the block title;

Averaged 2.7 steals per game, and Kendall Gill of the Nets won the steals title;

Averaging 26.9 points per game, Li You of the Knicks finally narrowly defeated Iverson and O'Neal and successfully won the scoring title this season!

After the NBA announced the list of winners, the New York media was delighted, and at the same time they did not forget to ridicule them:

"Jason Kidd is a statistician."

Without the All-Star selection this season, these awards are what many players pursue.

After the results were announced, O'Neal, who was still preparing for the playoffs, complained to the Los Angeles media:

"I don't care about statistics at all, I just want to win. You all know that I have the ability to win the scoring or rebounding title!"

"But I won't play for data like some young players do. I will prove myself in the playoffs this year and I will win the championship!"

The petty Shark is crazy about Lemon. In the last few games, he almost secured the scoring title.

Unfortunately, in the game against the SuperSonics in early May, he made 9 of 20 free throws.

He could have easily scored 40+, but in the end he only scored 33 points.

The next two games were both brutal games, and O'Neal, who wanted to save face, did not let go and watched Li You's scores continue to rise.

ESPN soon announced this season's regular season rankings, and some data made many sports media drop their jaws.

Li You started all 50 games in the regular season;

Averaged 37.8 minutes per game, 26.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.3 blocks and 2.2 turnovers per game;

He averaged 19.4 shots per game, shooting 47.8% from the field, 6.6 shots from outside the three-point line, 40.9% from three-point range, 6.1 free throws per game, and 91.0% free throw shooting.

1,344 points in a single season, ranking first in the scoring list!

O'Neal, who played 49 games, scored 1,289 points. The gap between the two is indeed very small, which is why the Sharks are unconvinced.

In the assists list, Li You ranked second with 489 assists in a single season, while Kidd ranked first with 539 assists;

On the hit list, Li You hit 463 goals this season, averaging 9.3 goals per game, also firmly ranked second, second only to O'Neal;

On the three-point list, with 138 three-pointers in a single season and an average of 2.8 goals per game, Li You leads the Raptors' Dee Brown by a slight margin and ranks first;

In terms of three-point shooting percentage, Li You ranked 8th. Although Dell Curry, who ranked first, did not produce much, his 47.6% three-point shooting percentage also surprised many people.

On the free throw list, Li You made 307 free throws in a single season, ranking fourth, and his free throw percentage ranked third, with Reggie Miller and Billups ranking in the top two;

The free throw shooting percentage of 91.5% also set a career high for Reggie Miller.

In the true shooting rate list, Li You rushed to third place with a true shooting rate of 60.8%, while O'Neal of Cha Lemon ranked 12th with a true shooting rate of 58.4%.

When it comes to the efficiency value list, O'Neal tops the list with an efficiency value of 30.6, and Li You ranks second with 30.2. The two of them are ahead of other players!

MVP favorite Karl Malone has an efficiency rating of 25.6, David Robinson 24.9, Alonzo Mourning 24.6, Grant Hill 23.9, and Tim Duncan 23.2.

Among the top 10 players, only Li You is a defender, Grant Hill is a forward, and the remaining eight are all big men.

On the TNT show, McHale looked confused when looking at the regular season rankings.

Li You's statistics are very good, and his playing on the court is also very beautiful, but some high-level statistics completely exceeded Duncan's expectations, which was completely beyond the expectations of the famous player:

"Maybe I'm a little behind the times, and I can't understand the data. Li is indeed very strong, beyond all of our expectations."

Without direct head-to-head comparisons, MVP selection depends on record and Excel.

Duncan's performance in high-end statistics is not better than that of old man Karl Malone, which makes McHale, who has been boasting for a season, a little embarrassed.

Compared with the leisurely playoff predictions and player analysis every year, TNT's programs this year are also relatively fast. When Kenny Smith saw the data rankings, he couldn't help but praise:

"Since mid-March, Li You has increased his number of shots. There may still be a gap between him and McDuck, but his offense with no blind spots in the game is completely in line with the perception of these data."

"With almost the same left and right hands, ball-handling offense after the pick-and-roll, coupled with efficient transitions and free throw shooting skills near the basket, Lee created a new style of play at the No. 1 position!"

"This also points the way for point guards in the league. The expectations of combo guards seem to have been realized."

In the studio, McHale was still in disbelief. He kept shaking his head on the sidelines, while fellow point guard Kenny Smith couldn't stop bragging.

After hearing the guide's prompt, the host Ernie Johnson also said in a brisk tone:

"After the birth of PER, we can see that Michael Jordan's PER was above 31 4 times in a single season in his career."

"Wilt Chamberlain scored more than 30 points three times in his career, and in the 1962-63 season he set the highest PER value in history - 31.8."

"In the 1993-94 season, David Robinson also had a PER of 30.7. This year Shaq and Lee have also entered this ranks. Both of them performed at a historical level."

"Although this season lacks some direct games, after seeing this data, do you think there is still suspense for the MVP?"

In the long history of the NBA, including this year's Li You and O'Neal, there are only five people with an efficiency value of more than 30.

This data was really scary. Kenny Smith smiled and shook his head, then looked at McHale on the other side.

The legendary star was still a little reluctant, and finally said:

"With the best record in the league and historical level of efficiency, I can't think of any reason not to vote for Lee!"

"Congratulations to Lee, he did have a perfect season!"

"."

On the morning of May 8, the headlines on the sports section of the New York paper media were all about Li You:

"Clay-Lee, 21 years old and 127 years old, is the youngest scoring champion in NBA history!"

"Beyond Rick Barry, breaking the 31-year-old scoring record, a historical point guard!"

"The new king of New York, Lee will start the "Show time" era of the Knicks!"

"."

Allen Iverson has been depressed since arriving in New York.

He has played 48 games this season and averaged 26.8 points per game. He ranks behind O'Neal in total points and behind Li You in points per game.

I thought I would win the scoring title, but my efficiency dropped in the last game and I lost to Li You in the end.

The MSG channel on the TV in the hotel praises Li You in a fancy way every day. If you change the channel, you can still see TV commercials that promote Li You's signature shoes every day:

"Anything is possible!."

In addition, advertisements from McDonald's, Pepsi-Cola, and Nintendo were also running, and Iverson felt that he could see Li You's smiling face every day.

The followers randomly bought a newspaper, took a quick look at it, and discovered that the articles in the sports columns of these newspapers were also mindless boasts.

Coupled with the fact that there is a huge poster of Li Youhe's signature sneakers hanging outside the Madison Square Garden Arena, Iverson and his followers felt like they were surrounded by Li Youhe when they came here.

During the video class in the hotel in the morning, Larry Brown discovered that Iverson was not focused enough.

The famous marshal who likes to pay close attention to details secretly frowned, and then raised his voice and said:

"Remember our defensive principles, don't go around the line to give the opponent a chance to take action outside the three-point line!"

"Theo, Matt, you must pay special attention. Once Eric loses his position, remember to delay getting up in time!"
To be continued...